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Bank tramp or tackle tart?

I am of the keep it clean faction.

In fact, my carbon gear is always cleaned and tidily put away after use , reels swilled off and dried, lines checked, landing nets washed/dried as required. Bait boxes washed and dried, bait sorted and returned to bulk containers. End gear and bits boxes are cleaned of errant bits of bait, grass, , odd bits of this and that, and restocked as neccessary. I am the worlds worst at keeping my gear in order on the bank, stuff gets everywhere unless I am roving when I have the bare minimum. Bags are emptied of any bits of line, biscuit wrappers, sandwich bags of the day, or other litter that I have collected on the bank.

That is the carbon gear. My cane items, and there are quite a few are fastidiously checked for any scratches , if any are found I will cut back with 00 wire wool and re varnish, otherwise if OK I just wipe with a damp cloth, when dry give a quick spray wth silicone polish amd a buff up with a soft cloth. Bells High or low rider bridge rings can and will rust whilst you sit and look at them, especially after a rain shower. Agate rings can crack if caught on a tree or similar when casting, even a tap when in their rod bags can cause damage which will shred mono so they need careful attention.
The same treatment for vintage style or vintage net poles .Cane or Bentwood nets are washed, dried and the frames given a wipe over with Danish Oil .Spreader blocks cleaned of any mud or whatever , Steel or brass threads lubricated.Vintage centrepin reels are always taken apart, cleaned off lubricated and given a surface spray with silicone polish ( just the outsides )
Classic Fixed spools likewise but not fully stripped down.
I have several classic flamed, and flamed telescopic rod rests, made from Various thicknesses of Bamboo, they are also given the same treatment as above .

All this sounds like OCD, but as most of my vintage gear still used regularly is well over 60 years old, and functions like new, and in fact is probably worth three or more times what my Carbon stuff is, imo it is time well spent.

All my sea gear, boat and beach and lure is cleaned after every session, reels swilled off , gunk removed , dried , lubed and given a silicone spray and wipe over , rods as well, tackle box cleaned out and knives given a quick honing .All my soft Plastics that have been used are cleaned , dried and if needed taken to the shad clinic for major or minor surgery ( superglued back together ) End rigs checked, any that need so are taken apart, components saved for the next rig building session.Bait elastic dipsensers cleaned and bait loaders/needles etc cleaned as they do get very stinky .

Lines on every reel salt and fresh are checked regularly and replaced or reversed n the spools .
None of the above takes anything like the time you would think to do. All that is needed is a bit of space to work in, and the patience to work through the gear.

After reading the above I have decided that in fact I am OCD , but as all my gear is in good nick being OCD is a small price to pay. 😋

David
 
David Craine said:
I am of the keep it clean faction.

In fact, my carbon gear is always cleaned and tidily put away after use , reels swilled off and dried, lines checked, landing nets washed/dried as required. Bait boxes washed and dried, bait sorted and returned to bulk containers. End gear and bits boxes are cleaned of errant bits of bait, grass, , odd bits of this and that, and restocked as neccessary. I am the worlds worst at keeping my gear in order on the bank, stuff gets everywhere unless I am roving when I have the bare minimum. Bags are emptied of any bits of line, biscuit wrappers, sandwich bags of the day, or other litter that I have collected on the bank.

That is the carbon gear. My cane items, and there are quite a few are fastidiously checked for any scratches , if any are found I will cut back with 00 wire wool and re varnish, otherwise if OK I just wipe with a damp cloth, when dry give a quick spray wth silicone polish amd a buff up with a soft cloth. Bells High or low rider bridge rings can and will rust whilst you sit and look at them, especially after a rain shower. Agate rings can crack if caught on a tree or similar when casting, even a tap when in their rod bags can cause damage which will shred mono so they need careful attention.
The same treatment for vintage style or vintage net poles .Cane or Bentwood nets are washed, dried and the frames given a wipe over with Danish Oil .Spreader blocks cleaned of any mud or whatever , Steel or brass threads lubricated.Vintage centrepin reels are always taken apart, cleaned off lubricated and given a surface spray with silicone polish ( just the outsides )
Classic Fixed spools likewise but not fully stripped down.
I have several classic flamed, and flamed telescopic rod rests, made from Various thicknesses of Bamboo, they are also given the same treatment as above .

All this sounds like OCD, but as most of my vintage gear still used regularly is well over 60 years old, and functions like new, and in fact is probably worth three or more times what my Carbon stuff is, imo it is time well spent.

All my sea gear, boat and beach and lure is cleaned after every session, reels swilled off , gunk removed , dried , lubed and given a silicone spray and wipe over , rods as well, tackle box cleaned out and knives given a quick honing .All my soft Plastics that have been used are cleaned , dried and if needed taken to the shad clinic for major or minor surgery ( superglued back together ) End rigs checked, any that need so are taken apart, components saved for the next rig building session.Bait elastic dipsensers cleaned and bait loaders/needles etc cleaned as they do get very stinky .

Lines on every reel salt and fresh are checked regularly and replaced or reversed n the spools .
None of the above takes anything like the time you would think to do. All that is needed is a bit of space to work in, and the patience to work through the gear.

After reading the above I have decided that in fact I am OCD , but as all my gear is in good nick being OCD is a small price to pay. 😋

David
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I actually have a very small paintbrush in my bag that i use to brush off all the ground bait and detritus thats get on my 4000d's while fishing 🙈
 
There’s nothing worse than going to put a rod together and hearing that horrible gritty sound.
Little narrow brush up the arse end of each section is a good way to keep your joints in good order.
 
Tart and ocd
Gear is always immaculate and everything has to match rods reels banksticks butt grips front rests … rods have to be Same height and exactly in line one tip cannot poke out further than the other and reel handles have to be in same position luggage has to be same manufacturer rucksack quiver reel pouches … reels are tarted up ss 1000 and ss2600 with black anodised spools
 
Chris Jones said:
Anyone else taking mental notes of who to avoid buying second hand gear from?;)
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That argument is deeply flawed !

If I buy new stuff it tends not to get used as its ‘too nice’. So I keep it for a while and then sell it on.

I once talked myself into wanting a set of Free Spirit carp rods. I looked for ages (part of the fun!) and eventually found a set of 3 Hi-S‘s and a marker rod. Built by Mr Tunley and just the right spec……40mm, cork, green whips etc etc.

I owned them for 2 years, never used them and then gave the marker rod to a mate and re-sold the other three……

I was going to advertise some feeder rods for sale on here; but now I probably won’t bother as I’m a marked man !
 
20220721_173531.jpg
 
After 51 years of being a painter and decorator,over 30 of them self employed.I’ve always aimed for perfection,not a brush stroke or a speck of dust was allowed on my finished work.My customers expected it.
But now I’m retired,I hate perfection,it’s like a weight of my shoulders.So I’ll be damned if a bit of muck on my rods and reels is going to bother me.
My fishing is mostly travelling light,no rod bags or sleeves,just chuck what’s needed in the back of the car.
So I guess I’m a tramp.😊
 
Terry Harman said:
Tart and ocd
Gear is always immaculate and everything has to match rods reels banksticks butt grips front rests … rods have to be Same height and exactly in line one tip cannot poke out further than the other and reel handles have to be in same position luggage has to be same manufacturer rucksack quiver reel pouches … reels are tarted up ss 1000 and ss2600 with black anodised spools
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Errrr yeah. This is where we might slightly differ mate. I like clean and organized but I draw the line at aligning up my reel handles 🤣
 
Definitely tart end of spectrum for me…..amount of money we spend on gear seems crazy not to keep it in best nick. Except for rod bags, don’t care what they look like and no idea why that is!
 
Hi men.

Reminds me of a story iv talked about before . Me and Sue had a kind invite from a friend Colin ( who we had never met before the day) to the Wassing estate syndicate on the Kennet . We pulled up at the carpark and was shown around the stretch and settled in our swims next to eachother . We sorted the gear out and dropped the baits out . While sue fished I sat with Colin , I noticed his gear was immaculate, proper chair , rodrests , lovely tackle bag next to him , and a flash flask.
I think we let the side down , felt like the Clampetts 😁 , Sue's stuff was caked in the red mud of the Teme , I sat on the unhooking mat and she used the bum buddy with the rod and reel in the mud propped up on the one rod rest we carry 😂.

We fished a few swims that day , catching from them all , but in one them the angle was better above a nice willow but was very overgrown. Colin's face was a picture as Sue used the Nash barbel elite to make a gap 😁, you can't take the Luton out of the girl 😂

Screenshot_20220721-214430.png


Happy days , Hatter
 
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My tackle bag and kit is like my work tools. I don’t carry unnecessary stuff, I do have redundancy and it’s very organised. I’m one of those people where everything has a specific home. Why? Because my mind is a scatter box, I don’t want to waste time wondering if I left something behind or hunting for things. But, stuff goes back functional, I don’t clean everything constantly. So I guess I’m regimental tramp…
 
Tramp.

Long as my gear is strong and reliable I’m happy.

I like to spend any extra time I have finding fish or walking venues.
 
It was a mates 70th a couple of months back and a collection was organised by one of his angling friends. A good sum was raised and we decided to buy him a new lure outfit, as he loves his light lure fishing for Perch. A high end Westin Rod and Daiwa Reel was suggested, in total costing over £300. It was then pointed out that he’s an absolute caveman on the bank and any gear purchased would be a total wreck within a matter of months. We therefore opted for a mid range lure outfit and fistful of Angling Direct vouchers 🙂

I was also out with another friend on the Ribble last season, he was trotting bread on the centrepin and having some success with nice Chub. He asked me if I wanted to have a few trots through, so I took hold of the rod and gave it a go. The centrepin didn’t sound particularly healthy, even though the drum was spinning freely. On close inspection it was a Youngs Purist and it was filthy, so I commented on the state of the reel and enquired if it was an old reel? He looked quite offended by my comments and declared that the reel wasn’t that old 😯 Why the hell would you treat a £350 reel like that (Are you reading this Andy 🤣)?
 
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